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FIFA offers helping hand to strengthen women's football in India

Bedeviled by gender inequality for long, world football's governing body FIFA aims to kick out for good, the ugly side of the 'beautiful game'.

It's been almost a year since years of patriarchy had been broken at FIFA with the appointment of Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura as its Secretary General, a move that had been hailed as groundbreaking.

“Over the past few years FIFA has put in a lot of efforts into developing women's football and promoting gender equality. Our aim is to break down the gender barriers in football,” Marion Mayer-Vorfelder, FIFA's head of events -- U-17 World Cup --, told PTI in an interview.

The influential sports body is lending a helping hand towards the growth of the women's game in India.

“They (AIFF) have been implementing FIFA's 'Live Your Goals' campaign for three years now and have reached out to thousands of female players.

“FIFA and the AIFF have also worked on capacity building to improve the level of the game, by organising coaching -- courses for coaches in women's football. In addition, the recently-launched women's league will be partially financed by FIFA forward funding over the next three years.”